The Golden Globes will start later this evening, and the balloting phase for the Academy Awards has been over for two days. That gives me a limited window to speculate on who I think will at least get Oscar nods (if not the little man, himself) later this week.
There are a handful of races I have no idea about (hello, Best Actress!) and others where I feel I’m almost overly-emotionally involved (Best Supporting Actor). To be honest, I really don’t care if Leonardo DiCaprio wins for The Revenant — I thought the anonymous quote that, if he didn’t win, he’d be likely to attach electrodes to a very vulnerable part of the male anatomy was much more amusing telling.
So, as a brief break from grant writing, here are some of my picks for what might happen later this week. The ones I really care about will be the ones with commentary.
Best Picture
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Carol
Inside Out
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Room
Sicario
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Yes, I think The Force Awakens deserves the last spot. I have both fan-girl and cynical perspectives on this: my inner fan-girl is so happy that we have the best Star Wars film of my lifetime, it needs to be recognized; my inner cynic thinks that if the Academy has any sense in terms of garnering that pivotal 18-35 year-old audience, they need to highlight Star Wars, along with Mad Max and (possibly) The Martian.
Best Director
J. J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Ridley Scott, The Martian
Denis Villeneuve, Sicario (Go, Canada!!!!)
Best Actor
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Michael Keaton, Spotlight
I know I’ve left out Eddie Redmayne. This is a total guess, but I have a feeling that, rather than egging on the Spencer-Tracy-Tom-Hanks-double-win-in-a-row comparison, the Academy might want to make Leo sweat a little with both Cranston and Keaton breathing down his neck. And if Walter White wins, I will be a very happy person.
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saiorse Ronan, Brooklyn
Maggie Smith, The Lady in the Van
Absolutely no idea here. None. Haven’t seen any of them. Totally relying on other prediction websites. But I still want Maggie Smith to win.
Best Supporting Actor
This category is my version this award season of fantasy football. I really REALLY want to see this line-up go head-to-head. Again, see both fangirl and cynic comments above for any rationale whatsoever.
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Harrison Ford, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
I want Harrison Ford to be nominated if only for the hairsbreadth of a chance that he WINS AN OSCAR for playing Han Solo, and then gets up on stage with his by-now traditional National Grumpus face on, and tells everyone in the audience and watching at home to f*** off. Humphrey Bogart held back from telling the audience “It’s about time” back in the 1950s and Jeff Bridges failed to mention “The Dude abides.” That nefarious part of my soul really wants Harrison to win for, let’s face it, a character he has loathed/wanted dead for over thirty years. That’s my kind of irony, people.
Or Stallone could win and I’d be happy with that, too. Rocky’s the man.
Best Supporting Actress
Jane Fonda, Youth
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight (Canada, again!!!!)
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Again, no real idea here, though I have seen Spotlight and I do want it to win a lot of awards. But, at this point, I’d be delighted just with a McAdams nomination. Local girl done good.
Mid-Atlantic Musings 